Fla. Governor Picks Friend to Fill Senate Seat

"Bypassing better-known Republicans, Gov. Charlie Crist on Friday instead chose his friend and top political adviser, George LeMieux, to fill the Senate seat given up this month by Mel Martinez."

"Mr. Crist announced in May that rather than seek re-election, he would run for the Senate seat himself next year. Mr. LeMieux, 40, made it clear on Friday that he had no ambitions beyond the next 16 months, noting that “my time in Washington will be brief.”

"Mr. Crist chose Mr. LeMieux, who once worked as his chief of staff and managed his 2006 campaign, over a list of other contenders, including former members of Congress, a former United States attorney and one of the state legislators who led the battle to keep Terri Schiavo alive."

FTC bans robocalls

"The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday banned unsolicited, prerecorded, commercial telemarketing calls - better known as robocalls - just because they are annoying."

"American consumers have made it crystal clear that few things annoy them more than the billions of commercial telemarketing robocalls they receive every year," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said. "Starting September 1, this bombardment of prerecorded pitches, senseless solicitations and malicious marketing will be illegal."

"Telemarketing firms that want to continue to use robocalls must first receive written permission from the person receiving the phone call. Under the previous rule, consumers had to "opt out" of robocalls by joining do-not-call lists."

"In the likely event they don't receive permission, telemarketers face fines up to $16,000 per call."

"The ban does contain some major exceptions. For example, prerecorded messages that aren't trying to sell something still will be permitted."

Jacksonville City Council panel cuts Veterans Day Parade, 18 other events

"To save $562,300, the panel agreed to eliminate funding for 19 of 26 special events planned for the next fiscal year."

"Money remains for only the biggest city-sponsored events - those drawing crowds of at least 50,000. That means the Jacksonville Jazz Festival and World of Nations Celebration, which had been initially on the chopping block as well, survive so far."

GDP declines 1 percent, better than expected

"The economy shrank at an annual rate of 1 percent in the spring, a better-than-expected showing and more evidence that the recession is drawing to a close"

"The 1 percent rate of decline in the April-June quarter followed decreases of 6.4 percent in the first quarter and 5.4 percent in the final three months of 2008, the sharpest back-to-back declines in a half-century. The four straight quarterly declines in GDP, which measures the country’s total output of goods and services, mark the first time that has occurred on government records that date to 1947."

Poll: 66% of workers lack proper savings

"Indeed, 34 percent of U.S. workers said they have less than a week’s worth of savings to cover living expenses if they were to be laid off from work, according to the survey from Maynard, Mass.-based Monster.com."

"Another 16 percent of respondents said they have between two and four weeks of savings and another 16 percent said they have between one to two months of savings."

"About 20 percent of the respondents said they have savings that would last them six months or longer, according to the poll."

Florida driver's license fee rising to $48 on Sept. 1

"The cost of renewing a license goes from $20 to $48. A first-time license will also cost $48, up from $27. Registering a car for the first time will be $225. Now, it's $100."

"Despite the unanimous objections of House Democrats, the Legislature approved these and other fee increases this year as part of an effort to balance the state's budget. Lawmakers raised the fees on 21 types of driver's licenses and raised the fees on 74 separate motor vehicle registration fees."

"The fee increases are expected to generate an extra $800 million in revenue in fiscal 2010, and $1 billion more in fiscal year 2011, Nucatola said. The department collects $1.5 billion in total revenue now and will collect $2.5 billion a year when the fee increases go through."

Obama approves interrogation unit

"Barack Obama, the US president, has approved the formation of a White House-supervised unit that will interrogate terrorism suspects, a senior aide has announced."

"The president ... did put in place a new group, the High Value Interrogation Group, which will be housed at the FBI," Bill Burton, the deputy White House spokesman, said on Monday."

"The interrogation unit, which will answer to the National Security Council, will adhere to guidelines on questioning terrorism suspects based on the US army field manual – a break with the policies of the Bush administration."

"The US Central Intelligence Agency will no longer handle the questioning of people suspected of planning or carrying out attacks, Burton confirmed."

Parents pay college costs amid recession: study

"More than half of U.S. parents use their current income to pay all or part of college costs for their children and are confident they can continue to support them amid the country's recession, a Gallup poll found."

"The poll, which was commissioned by student loan provider Sallie Mae and released on Wednesday, found 55 percent of the 800 parents surveyed paid on average $7,175 for the 2008-2009 academic year from their current income."

"Despite tough economic times, 67 percent of parents said they were confident in their ability to meet the cost of education, while 13 percent had little or no confidence."

"Parents paid 45 percent of the total costs of college in the 2008/09 academic year using income, savings and borrowing, similar to the previous year."

"The second largest source of college funding was scholarships and grants, covering 25 percent of total costs, while students contributed 24 percent, using a mix of income, savings and borrowing. A small amount came from sources such as relatives and friends."

Government Will End Clunker Program Early

"The government will end its popular “cash for clunkers” program on Monday, more than two months early, because it is already running out of money."

"The program, formally known as the Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS, gives consumers a credit of up to $4,500 toward the price of a new car or truck if they turn in an older vehicle with lower gas mileage. It has generated more than 457,000 sales since July 24, prompting G.M., the Ford Motor Company and other automakers to increase factory output and call back some idled workers."

“It has been successful beyond anybody’s imagination,” President Obama said on Thursday in a radio interview with the syndicated talk show host Michael Smerconish. “And we’re now slightly victims of success because the thing happened so quick, there was so much more demand than anybody expected, that dealers were overwhelmed with applications.”

"As of Thursday, the Transportation Department had repaid dealers just $145 million, or 7 percent of the $1.9 billion that they had requested, leaving many squeezed and prompting some to withdraw from the program early. The government is tripling the size of the work force assigned to handle the applications."

"In many cases, the administration says incomplete forms or errors in the information submitted by dealers are slowing the process. Workers have reviewed about 40 percent of the applications filed, and many have been rejected and then returned to the dealer for possible resubmission."

City Council Committee Nixes Buying Jaguars Tickets

"The perk enjoyed by the Mayor's Office and the City Council of having access to Jaguars football tickets at taxpayer expense could be history."

"The council's Finance Committee voted that the $43,000 expense is something taxpayers can no longer afford."

"In spirited debate, members voiced the pros and cons of the city no longer buying 40 tickets for the skybox at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium."

What Would an Anti-Federalist Say About Health Care Reform?

"It is natural for men, who wish to hasten the adoption of a measure, to tell us, now is the crisis - now is the critical moment which must be seized, or all will be lost: and to shut the door against free enquiry, whenever conscious the thing presented has defects in it, which time and investigation will probably discover. This has been the custom of tyrants and their dependants in all ages" - The Federal Farmer (8 October 1787).

Apply this quote, made by an Anti-Federalist in response to the brand new US Constitution, to the present health care reform process...

Book Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Title: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Author: Steig Larsson.
Year: 2008.
Type: Fiction.
Genre: Mystery.

Review: A good suspenseful mystery novel. Well worth the long read.

Grade: B.

53 Duval teachers replaced at 'F' schools

"Fifty-three teachers from six Duval County "F" schools are being replaced with higher performing teachers to help the schools improve next school year."

"The replacement teachers were selected because they have a history of generating learning gains among their students and are part of the district's efforts to get the schools off the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test's F list."

"Most of the high school teachers being replaced were transferred to middle schools, with a handful going to other high schools. None were fired, Willis said, because they all had satisfactory evaluations but just weren't the best fit for their previous school."

"They might perform better in another school setting with fewer challenges or at another school level," she said. "Just because a teacher's student gains are below average does not mean the teacher should be dismissed."

States get tough on driving menaces

"States are trying to put the brakes on bad driving by targeting "super speeders," lane hogs and those guilty of multiple moving violations."

"Florida is leading the way with a new law that sends its worst drivers back to driving school. A driver found at fault in three crashes in three years will have to pass a driver education course and a driving test, just like novice drivers."

"These people have proven themselves to be chronically bad drivers. You have to try everything you can to change their behavior," says Electra Theodorides-Bustle, executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The cost for additional training will be passed on to violators, she says."

"The moves come as a growing body of evidence suggests that aggressive driving — including speeding, tailgating, changing lanes without signaling, ignoring traffic signals and weaving in and out of traffic — is deadlier than drunken driving. An April study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that aggressive driving was a factor in 56% of all fatal U.S. crashes from 2003 through 2007."

"Florida's new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, is unlikely to eradicate bad driving in the Sunshine State: Highway safety officials have identified 3,200 people — out of about 15.5 million licensed drivers — who would currently fall under the new law."

DNA Evidence Can Be Fabricated, Scientists Show

"Scientists in Israel have demonstrated that it is possible to fabricate DNA evidence, undermining the credibility of what has been considered the gold standard of proof in criminal cases."

"The scientists fabricated blood and saliva samples containing DNA from a person other than the donor of the blood and saliva. They also showed that if they had access to a DNA profile in a database, they could construct a sample of DNA to match that profile without obtaining any tissue from that person."

“You can just engineer a crime scene,” said Dan Frumkin, lead author of the paper, which has been published online by the journal Forensic Science International: Genetics. “Any biology undergraduate could perform this.”

FL Population Drops for First Time Since 1946

"Florida's population has declined for the first time in 63 years, state researchers said Monday as they blamed the recession for plunging tax revenues and a steep drop in new residents."

"The decline -- 58,000 people over the past year -- is the first since large numbers of military personnel left the state in 1946 after World War II."

"There have been booms and busts over the time, but this is the first time it has declined," said Stan Smith, director of the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research."

"Florida's unemployment rate was 10.6 percent in June, the highest level since 1975. The state has lost 392,800 jobs during the past year, continuing a decline that began in 2007, the Agency for Workforce Innovation said."

Auto Dealers Paid for Just 2 Percent of 'Clunkers' Claims, Congressman Says

"The federal government has only reimbursed auto dealers for 2 percent of the claims they've submitted through the popular "cash for clunkers" program, a Pennsylvania congressman said, calling on the Obama administration to help speed up the process. "

"Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., called for "immediate action" to address the problem in a statement Sunday, after writing a letter to President Obama Saturday expressing his concerns. "

"In the letter, Sestak said only 2 percent of claims have been paid and that four of every five applications have been "rejected for minor oversight."

"In recent days, auto dealers across the country have been complaining that the reimbursement payments are slow to process. And they said some of their applications were being rejected because of apparent procedural issues. The statistics Sestak cited suggest those complaints are not based on isolated incidents. "

Why We Need Health Care Reform

"There are four main ways the reform we’re proposing will provide more stability and security to every American."

"First, if you don’t have health insurance, you will have a choice of high-quality, affordable coverage for yourself and your family — coverage that will stay with you whether you move, change your job or lose your job."

"Second, reform will finally bring skyrocketing health care costs under control, which will mean real savings for families, businesses and our government. We’ll cut hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and inefficiency in federal health programs like Medicare and Medicaid and in unwarranted subsidies to insurance companies that do nothing to improve care and everything to improve their profits."

"Third, by making Medicare more efficient, we’ll be able to ensure that more tax dollars go directly to caring for seniors instead of enriching insurance companies. This will not only help provide today’s seniors with the benefits they’ve been promised; it will also ensure the long-term health of Medicare for tomorrow’s seniors. And our reforms will also reduce the amount our seniors pay for their prescription drugs."

"Lastly, reform will provide every American with some basic consumer protections that will finally hold insurance companies accountable. A 2007 national survey actually shows that insurance companies discriminated against more than 12 million Americans in the previous three years because they had a pre-existing illness or condition. The companies either refused to cover the person, refused to cover a specific illness or condition or charged a higher premium."

"We will put an end to these practices. Our reform will prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage because of your medical history. Nor will they be allowed to drop your coverage if you get sick. They will not be able to water down your coverage when you need it most. They will no longer be able to place some arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or in a lifetime. And we will place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses. No one in America should go broke because they get sick."

"Most important, we will require insurance companies to cover routine checkups, preventive care and screening tests like mammograms and colonoscopies. There’s no reason that we shouldn’t be catching diseases like breast cancer and prostate cancer on the front end. It makes sense, it saves lives and it can also save money."

"In the coming weeks, the cynics and the naysayers will continue to exploit fear and concerns for political gain. But for all the scare tactics out there, what’s truly scary — truly risky — is the prospect of doing nothing. If we maintain the status quo, we will continue to see 14,000 Americans lose their health insurance every day. Premiums will continue to skyrocket. Our deficit will continue to grow. And insurance companies will continue to profit by discriminating against sick people."

Book Review: The Brass Verdict

Title: The Brass Verdict.
Author: Michael Connelly.
Year: 2008.
Type: Fiction.
Genre: Mystery, Crime, Law.

Review: Pretty good Connelly book. Remember, he is my favorite mystery/crime author at the moment. A quick and entertaining read. It was not classic Connelly, however. I sure do miss Bosch...

Grade: B.

Book Review: In Defense of Food

Title: In Defense of Food.
Author: Michael Pollan.
Year: 2008.
Type: Non-Fiction.
Genre: Health.

Review: Why was this rated so well on Amazon (with 4 1/2 stars)? It was good but it basically said the same idea over and over again. Could have easily been an article in a newspaper or magazine. It was, however, worth the read - especially falling under 200 pages. Informative, although common sense material.

Grade: C+